An extension of plane strain analysis

Reformulation of governing equations for isotropic and linear elastic material in state of plane strai

Derivation of mapping functions for star- shaped regions

Mapping function derivation for large class of star-shaped regions by Schwarz-Christoffel transformatio

The Relationship Between Participation, Social Networks and Cooperation: How Social Networks Influence Voter Turnout through Mobilization and how both Networks and Turnout are Related to Cooperation.

This dissertation is organized around three papers that illustrate the codependence of cooperation, political participation and social networks. It takes advantage of a unique project, the 2010 Rural Social Network Study that comprehensively mapped the social relationships of residents in 32 small Honduran communities. These data are paired with survey questions and behavioral observations of subsamples in incentivized settings. The first paper, ``Cooperation and Popularity,'' reinforces the claim that cooperation and friendship share a strong positive relationship. Friendship and social networks may have evolutionary roots in cooperation, but this work is the first to demonstrate a relationship between the number of friends one has and the propensity to cooperate. Number of friendships predicts cooperation in a public goods game. Specifically, I find that individuals with more friends are more likely to cooperate in earlier rounds, and that a group's total amount of money earned increases with the aggregate number of friends of its members. The second paper, ``Habituated Cooperation and Voter Turnout,'' provides empirical support for the claim that voting is a cooperative act. Prior theoretical work argues for a link between cooperation and voter turnout. I demonstrate that there is a robust empirical relationship been those who cooperate in public goods games and self-reported voting. The final paper, ``Social Networks and Mobilization,'' demonstrates that mobilization occurs more commonly when strong affective relationships are present. This study is the first to demonstrate how one’s position within a social network can affect the ability to mobilize others for participation in a community meeting. Specifically, the greater the number of connections a person is away from a mobilizer, the less likely she is to attend a community meeting. I also show that as mobilizers are more central to the network, the percentage of those who attend the community meeting grows. Together these papers illustrate that cooperation, social networks, and participation are linked to one another thereby contributing to the understanding of the interrelationship between social, political, and economic dynamics in the political process. These findings could be used to augment political participation and community cooperation through social networks.PhDPolitical ScienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133345/1/dstaff_1.pd

The Economic Costs and Benefits of Dental Education: An Empirical Analysis

The rising costs associated with obtaining a dental education have caused some to question the financial benefit of pursuing a dental degree. There is a concern that recent graduates may have difficulty finding professional opportunities that provide the income necessary to service their accumulated educational debt. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trends in educational costs to aid in making an accurate appraisal of the financial benefit of a dental education. Adjusted into constant dollar terms, data from a variety of sources were collected for economic variables such as tuition, fees, student indebtedness, and dentists’ earnings. These variables were then analyzed to determine the true costs and benefits of obtaining a dental education. The results showed that, over the course of the last decade, educational costs increased faster than the real net income of practicing dentists, which led to a decline in the return on investment in dental education. However, regardless of an applicant’s choice of public or private dental school, there continues to be a positive economic return on students’ commitment of both financial resources and time to receive a dental education

Fall and winter foods of ruffed grouse in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina

The objective of this study was to determine the principal fall and winter dietary patterns of ruffed grouse in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. The study was conducted in the Blue Ridge Region of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina and the Cumberland Plateau and Great Valley Regions of eastern Tennessee. All three regions are a part of the Southern Appalachians. The oak-hickory and oak-pine forest types are dominant in the area studied. A total of 294 grouse crops was collected during the fall and winter from October 1972 through February 1974. Seventeen additional crops were collected from December 1969 through February 1970. Greenbriar was the most important food by volume in the Blue Ridge (20.2 percent) and Valley Regions (33.2 percent). In the Plateau Region, Christmas fern was the most important food (15.5 per cent), and greenbriar was second (12.2 percent). Honeysuckle ranked second only to greenbriar in the Valley (18.0 percent). Mountain laurel leaves and buds ranked second in the Blue Ridge Region (19.6 percent), and fourth in the Plateau Region (10.4 percent). Dogwood was third (11.2 percent) in the Plateau. The principal foods by volume during the fall for each region were: Blue Ridge--Greenbriar (28.3 percent), grape (8.1 percent), mountain laurel (6.6 percent), dogwood (6.5 percent), black birch (5.9 percent) and partridge berry (5.0 percent). Plateau--dogwood (82.5 percent) and blueberry (9.6 percent) from only two crops collected; Valley--Greenbriar (38.5 percent), Christmas fern (10.0 percent), avens (6.9 percent), honeysuckle (6.3 percent) and cinquefoil (5.2 percent). The principal foods by volume during the winter for each region were: Blue Ridge--Mountain laurel (28.2 percent), greenbriar (14.9 percent), Christmas fern (12.5 percent) and cinquefoil (5.0 percent). Plateau--Alumroot (14.9 percent), Christmas fern (14.6 percent), greenbriar (11.6 percent), mountain laurel (10.1 percent) and blueberry (4.0 percent). Valley--Greenbriar (30.2 percent), honeysuckle (25.6 per-cent), Christmas fern (12.7 percent), hawkweed (5.7 percent) and unidenti-fied ferns (5.2 percent). During periods of snow, grouse from the Blue Ridge and Plateau fed primarily on black birch and mountain laurel. The diet of grouse from the Valley was the same during periods of snow as at other times. Snows were lighter in the Valley as compared to the Blue Ridge and Plateau. Open fields and pastures adjacent to woodlands in all regions appeared to be preferred feeding sites throughout the fall and winter

Study of a soft lander/support module for Mars missions. Volume 3 - Appendixes Final summary report

Soft lander support module for Mars missions - lunar module radar evaluation and vernier phase simulatio

Coherent Destruction of Coulomb Blockade Peaks in Molecular Junctions

Coherent electronic transport in single-molecule junctions is investigated in the Coulomb blockade regime. Both the transmission phase and probability are calculated for junctions with various contact symmetries. A dramatic suppression of the Coulomb blockade peaks is predicted for junctions where multiple atomic orbitals of the molecule couple to a single electrode although the charging steps are unaffected.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure